IN TH IS ISSUE :

www.bethel.edu • Fall 2010

Nursing Education Center Opens

Page 2

BethelInvestorNews for Donors to Bethel University

Gift Provides Technology for Bethel Seminary

of the EastPage 3

New School Year, New Goals

With new programs, new facilities, and new achievements,

the 2010-2011 academic year at Bethel began with energy and excitement. The College of Arts & Sci-ences began offering a bachelor of fine arts and a linguistics major; opened a state-of-the-art Nursing Education Center (see p. 2); and welcomed a new freshman class of 642 students. Bethel Semi-nary St. Paul drew more than 300 pas-tors, thera-pists, ministry leaders, semi-nary students, and commu-nity members to hear from a diverse group of highly qualified experts on the topics of depression and suicide for its annual fall conference; Bethel Seminary San Diego hosted H. Norman Wright, renowned mar-riage and family therapist, as part of its Distinguished Lecture Series; and Bethel Seminary of the East purchased innovative technology that now links stu-dents and professors in various locations, thanks to a generous donor (see p. 3). And in the College of Adult & Professional Studies, the first Frogtown/Summit-University (FSU) co-hort comprising eight students celebrated their completion of the General Studies program. Across the university, spiri-tual transformation is surfacing as well. Naomi Tutu, daughter of South Africa’s archbishop

Desmond Tutu, visited the St. Paul campus to speak in Rec-onciliation Day chapel, chal-lenging the community to face its own brokenness in order to come together as “one fam-ily.” And a student-led initiative drew hundreds into a modern-day Tent of Meeting on campus to pray for revival at Bethel (see p. 2). Bethel’s Office of Develop-ment also began the academic

year with new goals of its own. “The economic challenges, although caus-ing us to make some tough decisions, have also helped us define our goals as an institution

looking to the future,” says President Jay Barnes. What fol-lows is a quick look at Bethel’s fundraising priorities for the 2010-2011 fiscal year:

The Bethel Fund: Equipping Adventur-ous Christ-Followers The Bethel Fund* bridges the gap between tuition and the actual cost of Bethel’s Christ-centered education. It helps provide:

• Innovative academic programs and resources—cutting-edge technology for labs, classroom resources, and scholarships • Spiritual formation oppor- tunities—challenging chapel speakers, discipleship programs, and off-campus ministries• Faculty enrichment—grants

and training/learning opportunities • A vital student life experience—health services, career services, student activities, and programs. This year, $2.5 million is needed for the Bethel Fund.

*formerly the Annual Fund

President’s Club Bethel supporters who give at least $1,500 within a year are considered President’s Club donors. “They enjoy increased access to a variety of campus events as well as opportunities to interact with the Office of the President,” says Chris Nelson, development officer for the President’s Club. “We hope to retain our current level of en-gagement, in addition to seek-ing 40 new members this year.” (Read about President’s Club members Brent ’97 and Betsy Anderson ’96, p. 3.)

Planned Gifts Will provisions, trusts, annuities, and other forms of planned giving enable alumni, parents, and friends of Bethel to make an impact on the lives of Bethel students for years to come. “Those who include Bethel in their planning be-come part of the Royal Heritage Society and have the satisfaction of leaving a legacy in support of a Christ-centered education,” explains Dan Wiersum, associ-ate vice president and director of planned giving. (Read about Dennis ’63 and Doris Johnson ’66, who have built Bethel into their trust, p. 3.)

Key Projects Bethel seeks to secure $6 million in cash by May 31, 2011—above and be-yond regular gifts—to support the university’s mission through capital improvements. “Both unrestricted cash gifts and ac-celerated pledge payments will move us closer to that goal,” explains Bruce Anderson, vice president for development. “Capital priorities are always a means to an end. Our goal is to be the school of choice in our category—renowned for educa-

tional excel-lence across the board because we are preparing adventurous Christ-follow-ers to live out the biblical message of redemption and hope in students’ areas of giftedness.” One of the front-running projects is a Welcome Cen-ter. For Bethel to continue to prosper, the College of Arts & Sci-ences enrollment must remain strong—growing by as many as 30 students a year over the next five years. Challenged by flat high school demographics and a sluggish economy, Bethel sought the advice of higher education consultants with a track record of strengthening recruitment and admissions efforts. Their advice: improve the welcome experience for prospective

students by upgrading first impressions. Doing this will require a renovation in the Lundquist Community Life Center and the Aca-demic Center Lounge, creat-ing a more at-tractive bridge to Brushaber Commons and

centralizing the admissions of-fice in an accessible space nearer to the heart of student activity. Other upcoming projects include a fitness center, library expansion, and Bethel Seminary San Diego expansion. (Read about the new Nursing Education Center, a project made possible by generous donor Karin Larson, p. 2.) •

Bill and Ruth Dwyer ’75 met while working at Mounds

Park Hospital in 1974, where Bill was starting as a psychiatric technician and Ruth was fin-ishing her last year at Mounds Midway School of Nursing through Bethel. After getting married, they spent the next 30 years working in the medi-cal industry. Their daughter Megan followed in their foot-steps, graduating with a nursing degree from Bethel in 2001. At Mounds Midway, Ruth says she learned a holistic ap-

proach to nursing—combin-ing Christian compassion with necessary scientific knowledge. Wanting to help more future nurses receive Bethel’s holistic approach, Bill and Ruth set up a fund for Bethel nursing stu-dents in 1999. “If a student is unsure about becoming a nurse because of the cost of the neces-sary education, we want to help financially,” explains Bill. Sarah Westergren ’11 is one such student. “I came to Bethel with enough funds to cover the first semester only. But I knew I wanted to come to Bethel and

B E T H E L I N V E S T O R

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It is incredible what a well-timed gift to Bethel can do

to elevate the excellence of our nursing programs,” remarked President Jay Barnes at the open-ing of the Larson Family Nurs-ing Education Center. “Standing in this facility, we can envision a greater picture of what God is calling our students to be.” More than 200 individuals toured the new 17,500-square-foot home of Bethel’s nurs-ing programs during an open house and dedication program on Monday, September 27. The Larson Family Nursing Educa-tion Center, named in honor of donor Karin Larson and her family, is the result of Larson’s $1 million gift to Bethel Univer-sity. Larson and a number of her

If you walked by Kresge Court-yard earlier this fall, you

probably noticed a white tent. Set up by students, it was the Tent of Meeting in which Bethel community members prayed 24 hours a day for 40 days with a goal of revival. Undergraduate student leaders requested the tent for prayer, and at a Sunday

Spiritual Transformation in Modern-Day Tent of Meetingevening Vespers service, stu-dents contributed $1,700 to pay for it. Committed Bethel stu-dents prayed for revival for 960 hours straight. They petitioned the Lord to break their hearts with the things that break His heart. “We saw a lot of students experience forgiveness and true freedom, as well as realize theirsense of worth and power through Christ,” says Jay Quick, a senior communication stud-ies major and one of the student leaders who spearheaded the initiative. “Students’ hearts have changed. They know the impor-tance of it. They have tasted the presence of God and can’t get enough of it.” This Spirit-led initiative is indicative of Bethel’s emphasis

Nursing Education Center Opens

family members were present at the dedication. Also in at-tendance were representatives from KKE Architects, the archi-tectural firm for the project, and Mortenson Construction, the project’s general contractor. The state-of-the-art facil-ity includes 29 offices, four classrooms, two skills labs, a conference room, a five-room simulation suite (complete with life-like patients who talk, cry, and even give birth), and two debriefing rooms. The Depart-ment of Nursing at Bethel University serves more than 530 undergrad and graduate stu-dents each year in the College of Arts & Sciences, College of Adult & Professional Studies, and Graduate School. •

Nursing Scholarship at Work

be a nurse, even though any-thing beyond my first semester was uncertain.” Westergren applied for the Dwyer Nursing Scholarship, given to nursing students in need, and is now completing her senior year. “I strongly feel God’s calling to be a nurse, and the Dwyer Nursing Scholarship has played an important role in helping me reach my goal,” she says. “Each semester has been a gift.” Westergren isn’t the only student at Bethel to benefit from the Dwyers’ generous gift. Each year since the scholarship was started, several nursing students have received help. Bill and Ruth know the difference that stewardship can make, as Bill himself relied on scholarships to get through his undergradu-ate work at the University of Minnesota and Ruth received financial support as she studied at Mounds Midway School of Nursing. “We’re delighted to in-vest in Bethel and to help others like we were helped,” says Bill. “It’s all God’s money!” •

on spiritual growth. “Entire residence halls, athletic teams, prayer groups, roommates, and many commit-ted individuals wanting to make a difference at Bethel through prayer took their place—on their knees—in the tent,” says Campus Pastor and Dean of Campus Ministries Laurel Bun-ker. “They not only prayed, but also journaled and painted in tablets so that we could chron-icle what the Lord was doing and saying to us individually and collectively. What will the Lord do as a result of this time of intense consecration? We don’t fully know, but what we can be sure of is this: whatever the Lord touches and whomever the Lord visits will undoubtedly be changed forever.” •

Bill and Ruth Dwyer ‘75

“

Sarah Westergren ‘11

B E T H E L I N V E S T O R

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Dennis ’63 and Doris John-son ’66 met while singing

in the Bethel College Choir. Dennis was a senior and presi-dent of the choir, and Doris was a freshman. They joke that Dennis purposely invited Doris to join his church choir so he could see her more often. They married after Doris’ sophomore year, and, following further schooling, the couple invested their God-given gifts into careers—Doris in domestic and international human resources and Dennis teaching chemistry and directing scientific research. Early in life, the Johnsons say they were both taught critical financial principles: giving to God comes first; don’t spend your money until you have it; and save some-thing each month, even if it’s a few dollars. Building on these principles contributed to what the Johnsons call a lifestyle of stewardship. “To us, this means managing, utilizing, and shar-ing everything in our lives—not just finances, but also time, interests, and skills,” explains Doris. It’s why they’ve opened up their home over the years to sin-gle-parent families as well as to college students needing a home away from home or a place to study. It’s why Dennis has given much of his retirement time to the worship ministry at their church, and why Doris has min-istered in numerous leadership roles and is currently spearhead-ing a letter-writing ministry. She handwrites notes to people

A federal contractor em-ployee of Knolls Atomic

Power Laboratory in upstate New York, Jeannette Gordon is part of an engineering commu-nity responsible for the design, assembly, maintenance, opera-tional training and support, and disposal of the nuclear reactors that go into U.S. Navy ships. For more than 35 years, she’s been at the job, which requires highly skilled technical know-ledge, structured analytical and strategic thinking, and close collaboration among many people and disciplines. She looks forward to re-tirement in three to four years and a departure from working with a “hunk of cold steel.” She intends to use her spiritual gifts—teaching, knowledge, and administration—for full- or part-time Christian ministry. To help her with the transition, she began classes at Bethel Semi-nary of the East (BSOE) five years ago. Now working toward her Master’s in Theological Studies degree, she will gradu-ate in 2011. “My engineering career was and still is very satisfying,” she explains. “Yet I valued what I would gain from

Being a member of the Wel-come Week staff, going

on choir tours, helping lead Vespers worship, attending the 1996 Olympics for broadcast-ing/PR training with other com-munication studies majors—these are only a few Bethel undergraduate experiences that stand out for Betsy Anderson ’96. Bethel is also where she met her husband, Brent ’97, a busi-ness major. They were both in choir and had several business and communication classes together. Now, 13 and 14 years after graduating, Brent and Betsy are President’s Club donors. “To me, it’s something that you just do—give back to an institution that you’ve benefitted from so much,” says Betsy. “I partici-pated in the phone-a-thon as a freshman, which helped me

PLANNED GIVING PROFILE

Dennis and Doris Johnsonon their birthdays as well as to people who are sick. Crediting Bethel for their personal and spiritual develop-ment, they began giving back to their alma mater early on, spe-cifically to Bethel’s music and chemistry departments. Then, upon retirement, they began giving to Bethel in more long-term ways. Since December 2002, they have donated to various Beth-el-related projects, and have funded 18 charitable gift an-nuities; they receive a monthly check from Bethel, and Bethel will benefit upon their deaths through additional funds for scholarships. “Gift annuities have been a stabilizing piece in addition to our investment portfolio,” explains Doris. “The income from each annuity doesn’t increase over time, but it doesn’t decrease either! As a result, these annuities have given us peace of mind.” Additionally, the Johnsons have set up a trust so that their entire estate will go to Bethel in the form of scholarships for students particularly interested in music or chemistry, as well as for other students who would not otherwise be able to attend Bethel. “We trust Bethel. We trust how they manage financ-es,” says Dennis. “We believe God is at work there, and we know that our investment will be wisely utilized,” seconds Doris. To the Johnsons, leaving a legacy means making a differ-ence in the lives of others, now and for years to come. “Invest-ment is not about selfishly trying to get rich,” says Doris. “It is about giving so that others can have a better future.”

To learn more, contact Dan Wiersum in the Office of Development at 651.635.8052, (800.255.8706, ext. 8052) or by email at d-wiersum@bethel.edu. •

Dennis ‘63 and Doris Johnson ‘66

Why President’s Club?make the connection that many of the things I benefitted from, such as the Community Life Center and receiving a scholar-ship, were the direct result of the donations that Bethel depends on to operate and offer pro-grams.” Brent agrees: “I see it as a matter of stewardship. It’s not hard to give when it is something you believe in and understand how it can be trans-formative.” Perhaps most transform-ing for Betsy and Brent was the community they found at Bethel, which generated lifelong friend-ships. In fact, Betsy and Brent still get together regularly with five other Bethel couples for fel-lowship and games. In addition to attending the annual Festival of Christmas and Royal football games, Betsy is an active member of the National Prayer Initiative, and Brent has spoken to busi-ness classes on numerous occa-sions. Their son, Rylan, attends the Bethel Child Development Center. “It’s nice to give to an orga-nization you believe in, have a personal connection to, and can see how the money is directly used,” says Betsy. •

Tax-Exempt Gift Meets Immediate Need

seminary—a deeper under-standing of the tools of ministry, sharpened in a structured learn-ing environment.” One of the things Gordon gained has been meaningful interaction with instructors, classmates, and mentors. To enhance this aspect of learning for her as well as other seminar-ians, she recently gave appreci-ated stock to BSOE. The gift was liquidated, and BSOE purchased video-conferencing technology for its hybrid course initiative. Professors teach live at one center, linking the class to its “twin” center, allowing students in both centers to hear the same lecture and to participate in discussion together through video-conferencing. The follow-ing week, professors teach at the other center, again linking the class live to its “twin” cen-ter. BSOE’s Washington, D.C., and New England Centers are “twins.” “The innovative technol-ogy helps faculty become more efficient across teaching centers, yet maintain the face-to-face, relation-building dynamic that I think is key to class effec-tiveness,” says Gordon, who

attended classes at the former New York Center the first five years, but will finish at the New England center. “The purchase also stretches available dollars to keep BSOE affordable and to be there for the next class of seminarians.” Doug Fombelle, BSOE dean, says Gordon’s gift met an im-mediate need, coming at a time when BSOE needed to increase efficiency and yet maintain the important mentoring, relation-ship-building aspect of their programs. “She’s very forward-

looking,” he says. “And it’s been a win-win situation.” Bethel, with tax-exempt status, doesn’t have to pay taxes on the gift; likewise Gordon doesn’t pay taxes on the appreciated por-tion. “I know of no other school so accessible and built upon the basics of the adult learning model with mentoring as a key element,” says Gordon. “The Northeast U.S. is so diverse, and with many students eager for flexible training, BSOE is well-positioned to work with them.” •

Betsy ‘96, Rylan, and Brent Anderson ‘97

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In This Issue:

•2010-2011 Fundraising Priorities Page 1

•Modern-Day Tent of Meeting Page 2

•Nursing Scholarship in Action Page 2

•Why Give at President’s Club Level? Page 3

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

B E T H E L I N V E S T O R

OFFICE OF DEVELOPMENTBruce W. Anderson ’74, Vice President for DevelopmentPhone: 651.635.8050Email: development@bethel.eduWebsite: bethel.edu/development

Editor: Heather SchneseDesigner: Thomas Vukelich ’82Contributing Writer: Dana Morrison ’12

DECEMBER2-4 54th Annual Festival of Christmas � Benson Great Hall17 College of Adult & Professional Studies and Graduate School Mid-Year Commencement Benson Great Hall17 College of Arts & Sciences Mid-Year Commencement � Benson Great Hall

JANUARY23 Parent Coffee, Eastlund Room (for parents of prospective CAS students)

FEBRUARY3-6 Curtains � Benson Great Hall18-19 Annual Moberg Reconciliation Conference St. Paul campus24-27 Our Town Black Box Theatre

40th Reunion Generates Scholarship

Fun was the forecast for Homecoming 2010! Some 2,000 alumni weathered the trip back to Bethel October 15-17 to reconnect

with friends, roommates, and professors. Alumni toured the cam-pus, attended sample classes, honored alumnus of the year Bruce Dahlman ’76 at Homecoming chapel, and cheered on the Royals football team as they beat Gustavus 20-0. More than 800 alumni also celebrated their reunions, including the Class of 1970. In honor of its 40th reunion, the Class of 1970 created a scholarship and hopes to raise $40,000. Thus far, they have raised more than $14,000 and were able to present a check to Provost David Clark at their home-coming reunion. •

Remembering KariKari Rasmussen ’08, an employee in Bethel’s Office of Develop-

ment, died in a car accident in May 2010. She and her husband John were expecting their first child. Kari is survived by her hus-band, John; parents, George and Joanne Klug; and her brother and sister. While a student at Bethel, Kari played the baritone saxophone in the wind symphony and jazz band. Throughout that time, she made lasting impressions on her instructors and bandmates. A special concert was performed in her honor on Oct. 29, and in recognition of Kari’s love for music and Bethel, and her loyalty and devotion to Christ as well as her friends, the Kari Rasmussen Memorial Scholar-ship was established. The funds will be invested with other endowment funds, and a portion of the earnings will be used to underwrite the cost of private music lessons for worthy Bethel University College of Arts & Sciences music students. To give to the Kari Rasmussen Memorial Scholarship, visit bethel.edu/development/give-to-bethel/online. On form, indicate that gift is for this scholarship. •

Bethel FoundationAs of September 30, 2010, Bethel’s endowment was

$32,771,756 and total assets under management were $59,920,135.

For more information about trust management opportu-nities available through the Bethel Foundation, contact Angella Hjelle, Bethel Foundation executive director, at a-hjelle@bethel.edu or 651.635.1001. •

Dean Ericson ‘70 and Provost David Clark